Detention with Peter Parker
by HemlockAndy
Summary: Michelle Jones paused for a moment, staring at the odd site of Peter Parker in detention. As she sketched his distressed state and added a poor little cloud above his portrait, Michelle took a moment to study him. She wasn't certain why, but she felt there was something more to the nerd. One-shot! Spiderman Homecoming


**Hello! Welcome to my first fan fiction - I've decided to dip my toe into writing. I'm super excited, especially since I've always related to Michelle Jones in Spiderman Homecoming. I've always felt she knew way more than she was telling and I decided to explore her unique perspective. Read and review!**

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Michelle walked through the hallway, giving odd and judgmental looks to her fellow classmates. Students flittered about after school in the hallway, exchanging gossip at their lockers in cliques. They whispered to each other furtively and clutched their books as shields to protect themselves. Michelle looked blankly at the group of Flash Thompson's friends who leered at her. She dismissed them, rolling her eyes at their bullying antics. She had escaped taunting from her middle school and tried to find shelter in Midtown High, but still managed to find bullies in a school dedicated to STEM and education.

She had taken high school as an opportunity to reform herself as her own person, becoming independent, self-motivated, and driven. She did not care who she drove over or crushed beneath her boot because she had been crushed herself. She was determined to never again be manipulated or used as a disposable pawn.

Michelle flipped through her notebook, passing through her future exhibition "Portraits of Crisis." She had drawn hundreds of compositions of her fellow students, teachers, and strangers in distress. Her favorite art teacher had seen Michelle's work, remarking how she had a real talent for still-life and portraiture. Michelle had found herself drawn to people in crisis, their mannerisms and silent expressions intriguing and fascinating.

Michelle rested on a portrait of Peter Parker looking flustered and embarrassed in his gym uniform. She smiled fondly at the memory of Peter trying to talk to Liz after Ned acknowledge Peter's acquaintance with Spiderman. His stuttering had revealed his insecurity around Liz, revealing his crush to the entire gym class. Michelle found the situation very humorous, going to class afterward and ignoring the history lecture to capture Peter's priceless expression. She had seen him later that evening at Liz's party, just as ill-condfident and hesitant as before.

She had multiple portraits of Peter because, to her, he was such an interesting, intriguing, yet enigmatic and infuriating character. Michelle knew of the harsh reality of Flash's bullying - Peter, herself, and others had suffered from this fate. She'd seen others bend and breakdown to Flash's bullying or stand up and fight, with varying range in between. Michelle herself had become resistant to criticism. Peter was an anomaly. He retained his innocent, childish, nerdish traits and persisted against Flash's bullying without changing. It was irritating Peter had yet to do anything about his situation, forcing Flash to move onto someone else. Michelle couldn't recall the last time he wasn't awkward or self-aware, susceptible to bullying, or acting flustered or embarrassed. It was frustrating that the smartest and top student hadn't gained confidence and was still pushed around.

Suddenly, Michelle's vision was obstructed by a giant metal door. She reacted quickly, barely blinking as she harshly pushed it back. The student (from her math class) jumped back quickly to avoid being hit. He frowned at Michelle's hostile reaction, summering apologies for the inconvenience. Michelle instead walked away, not turning back as she put up her middle finger to indicate her unhappiness with being hit. She'd never seen Peter retaliate or fight back. Instead, he would have apologized timidly, never resisting or showing anger or hostility. Michele could never understand why.

She turned the corner and left the high school hallway - abandoning all her classmates mingling after school. Michelle leapt down two stairs at a time into the school basement. Students avoided this area like it was cursed, whispering about ghost stories of students gone missing or expelled students forever trapped in the school. She stared impassively at the vandalized walls and flittering lights, imagining it as the setting of a horror set. Yet, Michelle found comfort in its hostile environment. She walked into the classroom the very end of the long hallway. She pulled open the door, but stopped short in the doorway.

Michelle stared at the odd sight of Peter Parker in detention. He appeared frustrated and irritated, tousling his mousy brown hair in boredom and looking aimlessly around the room. She even saw a gleam of defiance toward the supervisor in his eyes. She saw his backpack tossed carelessly, unzipped and papers spilling out. He seemed ready to bolt, eager to escape. Peter seemed to be in his own world, ignoring Michelle as she sat at the desk next to him. In contrast, the teacher gave her a strange looked and shrugged in reluctance. He was used to Michelle's antics of spending time in detention, even if she wasn't in trouble. She did come to this ominous room frequently for defying commands or not turning in assignments simply because it wasn't beneficial to her education. Otherwise, Michelle came here to people-watch and sketch.

Mr. Smith started the Captain America PSA and the fugitive super-hero went on about "being cool" and the rules of detention. Michelle ignored the PSA since she'd heard it multiple times before. Instead, she opted to select her subject in the dull white light of the screen, opening her sketchbook. She twirled her pencil between her calloused fingers, the yellow wood scratching at her skin. She could hear the whirl of the sputtering school ventilation system and spotted the chipped paint of the white brick wall. The detention room was always so boring, static and never changing. Michelle had a fascination with the people who flowed in and out each day depending on the severity of their misdemeanor. Everyday, new subjects filtered in with different attitudes and problems allowing new compositions. She'd seen a large range from students who practically lived in detention to goody-too-shoes fretting over a tardy. The ones in crisis and distress were her favorites to draw.

Today, Michelle decided to draw another portrait of Peter Parker. She narrowed her eyes and studied how the overhead white light brightened his contours, forming highlights on his cheeks and casting shadows over this eyes. The light emphasized individual hairs and saturated his face, making him zombie-like pale. She quickly drew an outline of his face, drawing basic features with a saddened expression. She narrowed her eyes and focused on Peter's chin, pointed and perfectly sculpted (in her opinion). She added a couple more lines, outlining a harsh jawline. Michelle quickly double checked her work, glancing at Peter and referencing the subject. After a moment's hesitation, she erased the lines with her eraser and reformed his jawline to be smoother and softer. She felt it was more appropriate for Peter. Michelle shaded the lips into a permanent frown and lightly added dimples to further express distress in Peter's face.

She paused, holding her pink eraser between her fingers. Teasingly, she held it over Peter's face, replacing his bored and frustrated face with a giant eraser with drawn-on eyes and smile. As Captain America ranted on, Michelle felt the soft pink shaving of her eraser between her fingers. She sadistically slowly bent the eraser in half, watching the fibers strain, yet never fully breaking. Despite the abuse and pressure Michelle put her eraser through, it never snapped or broke. Peter too had the same tenacity and resistance. She had seen him shoulder the weight of Flash's taunts and stride through academic obstacles and challenges. Michelle had never seen him break, bursting from the overwhelming pressure. So why was this model student in detention, paying little attention to Captain America?

Michelle outlined a sad eye, adding downtrodden lines. She contemplated adding tears on his pale face. Instead, she opted to shade in light cheekbones and started drawing in his hair, one little line at a time. In a rhythmic motion, Michelle sketched hundreds of little lines on the top of the head, forming tousled hair. She began to think, unconsciously thickening his locks.

Michelle had her own theories on why Peter was here in detention. She thought back to Washington D.C., nearly two weeks ago. She had such a vivid memory of standing at the bottom of the Washington Monument. Head tilted all the way up, she watched the explosion in mild horror. A red figure appeared next to her, just as stunned and panicky as her. Michelle was taken back by Spiderman standing next to her. When she exclaimed "My friends are up there!," she remembered a voice telling her that "Ma'am, everything will be okay!" Yet, Michelle could tell the superhero was internally freaking out. As she watched the wall-crawler scale up the Washington Monument, Michelle was struck by the realization that she'd only seen Spiderman in New York. There was no YouTube account that posted activity in Washington (except Berlin which was a completely different continent). It only seemed to be centrally located in New York City, especially Queens. She also considered the puberty-struck voice and short build of seeing the hero in person. When she later asked other students about their near-death crisis (it was too bad she wasn't there in the elevator to capture their faces, but she wasn't willing to be in a building built by her enslaved ancestors), Liz, Flash, and others confirmed the familiar voice and build, further supporting her theory.

As Michelle moved away from the hair and sketched a quivering lip, she flashed back to her hotel room in Washington D.C.. She remembered sitting on her hotel bed while her roommate was in the bathroom. Michelle sat with her laptop balanced precariously on her legs, participating on an online quiz bowl tournament. As she tried to remember who wrote "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," she heard a loud swish past her window. Michelle quickly threw her laptop off onto the bed, rushing to the window and thrusting the curtains aside. She saw a blurred red figure fly past the hotel and into the night. Her laptop screamed at her to answer with "L. Frank Baum," but Michelle ignored it. She tried to recapture the memory, recalling black lines or stripes on the back of their suit.

Suddenly, Michelle's roommate, Anna, opened the bathroom door, distracting Michelle. She turned back to see the figure, but there was nothing illuminated by the street except for a blue truck. Anna asked Michelle if she was planning on joining the rest of the group at the pool, but Michelle declined. She was an outcast and rather not deal with the popular group tonight. Anna shrugged, used to Michelle's antics, and opened the door to greet her friends. Michelle listened closely to hear Flash rant to Anna about Penis Parker chickening out of sneaking to the pool, completely ignoring her online tournament.

As a wallflower and (self-placed) social outcast, Michelle had an advantageous perch above her peers. She could silently observe and note her classmates' attitudes, habits, and characteristics without truly interacting or socializing. Michelle had quietly overhead Peter shushing Ned about the Avengers and Spiderman teaming up and asking about Spiderman's supernatural abilities.

She had seen an entirely new side of Peter Parker. Michelle had done her own research and understood how Spiderman joined up with the Avengers and read theories on where the superhero gained his powers (the most popular was from Tony Stark). Yet, Michelle felt something was missing. She wanted to understand Peter Parker. She had seen his nerd, childish, quiet side in the classroom and witnessed Spiderman's comradery, bravery, and determination. It was almost like an alter ego - where one side was noble and infallible while the other was timid and weak. Michelle wanted to know what drove Spiderman to save random New York citizens and tourists (who most likely didn't deserve saving). She wanted to understand Peter's motivation.

Michelle paused during her internal rambling. During the video, Peter shifted slightly, allowing her to study his eyebrows. Michelle tweaked them slightly in her image, making them more pointed and downward. As she added little hairs haphazardly, Michelle knew she had to respect Peter's secret. He obviously didn't want anyone to know from shushing Ned to concealing the super strength she saw on posts. He was lucky most of the class and teachers were oblivious to the quiet ones - including Peter and herself.

Just like none of her classmates identified Peter, no one notice Michelle's own troubles. She struggled silently under the guise of criticism and humor, only earning rude glances instead of concerns about her morbid comments. Michelle felt Peter's pain of his silent struggle, and deeply respected and admired it. She had seen Peter's half-covered bruises along his arms, but his satisfied smiles and anonymous YouTube posts confirmed that he was winning his battles. In fact, Peter was most likely irritated he wasn't out on the streets right now, instead stuck in detention.

A squeak of metal came from her right and Michelle glanced over at Peter, who shifted in his chair in an irritated manner. He appeared even more frustrated and bored, if that expression were humanly possible. After glancing at her sketch, Michelle outlined a cloud like a halo over his head. Peter was truly a saint, unappreciated by the masses. She shaded in the cloud, further cementing the depressing atmosphere of her image. Michelle stared in admiration at her completed portrait of Peter Parker in crisis.

Michelle never fully understood why she drew other people's faces in crisis, but she did it in a cathartic manner. She knew it for socio or psychopathic reasons. People's crises and distress indicated to her that she was normal. It was nice knowing other people struggled just as she had. Michelle had countless moments of distress and paralyzing problems that she felt nothing for people who resembled those who victimized her (those who never struggled a day in their lives). She could only sympathize with victims of pain and struggles, allowing her to relate to them and better understand them.

Noting that she was doodling faint lines on the eyes of Peter's portrait, she erased them vigorously. Michelle sensed eyes on her and turned to see Peter's annoyed face. She flashed him a mocking pouty face, unveiling her latest portrait to him. A sad, distressed figure faced Peter, causing him to let out a sigh. He quickly grabbed his backpack, violently pushing back his seat and walked out of the room. She admired his courage to leave, especially since he struck her as a rule-follower. She rolled her eye at the teacher's half-attempts to get Peter to return.

As Michelle watched Peter walk out of the room, she keenly spotted a thin silk thread snake out of his backpack. Smiling to herself, Michelle sketched a cobweb in the corner of Peter's collar. She smiled to herself. Perhaps he'd land himself in detention again and she would be able to study him some more. One of these days, she would fully uncover the secrets of Peter Parker. It was only a matter of time.


End file.
